For more detailed info on tools and tool
vendors, see my
TOOLS page. Also see my
Other RV Builders page for builders who are
also providing products and services. For info on support groups for
some of the major players listed here, see my
Builder Support page.

Blue Mountain Avionics - EFIS & autopilot - good
products, very responsive, good customer service, very open, very
available head man, has discussion group, dedicated to improvements
JULY 9, 2009 - BMA HAS FOLDED UP - THIS SUCKS BIG TIME

Panel
Designer (formerly called ePanel Builder) Bill VonDane's
online program to help you build your instrument panel. Includes a
free panel builder area and other apps coming. Bill is very responsive
and customer-oriented.

CreativAir - wig-wag,
LED nav lights, and other lighting products - good
products, very good responsiveness

TRUTRAK - makers of popular autopilot and flight instrument systems.
I didn't buy their autopilot system, because I had assumed that if I had BMA
EFIS, I had to use BMA autopilot, but I kinda wish I had gotten a TruTrak. I
hear nothing but good things about them and their products. I'm hoping
the BMA A/P will work as well as I hear the TruTrak does. Who you talk
to when you call a company can make all the difference. The first
couple times I called TruTrak, I talked to some
ignorant, disinterested kid, and I wasn't at all impressed with the company.
When I called after having already
gotten the BMA autopilot, I talked to Jim, the owner. That was a hugely
different experience, and made me wish I'd gotten the TruTrak.
2011 UPDATE - I bought a TruTrak EFIS and autopilot for my RV-6A.
Every time I've called them about any aspect of their products, or to talk
about possible upgrades, it has been a quite positive experience.

Decalin Chemicals
- makes Decalin, an anti-lead additive. Decalin is the hot ticket for pilots whose engines don't like lead,
especially auto conversions, like Eggenfellner. Chris seems to be on
top of things, and quite interested in his customers. Chris is also a
fellow RV builder.

McMaster-Carr -
gigantic selection of industrial supplies. Their web site has an
extremely useful and easy-to-use search engine to look for things you need
and narrow down your selection.

Allied Electronics
- tons of electronic stuff, switches, relays, LEDs, etc. Lots of items
in their catalog are not in stock, though. My experiences with them
and their customer service have been good. Their web site search
engine isn't the greatest, but it's OK. See also
Mouser,
Digikey,
Newark for things Allied does not have. Smaller places like
Action,
GC,
Jameco will have a less overwhelming selection than the
previously-mentioned suppliers.

Schweiss Bi-Fold Doors - not
only do they make very good bifold hangar doors, they also have
exceptionally good customer service. See my
hangar page.

SkyGeek - tools, parts,
pilot supplies. SkyGeek was $10 less than anywhere else for my
AirGizmos panel mount for my Garmin
496. Good customer service, quick shipping, and you get a real person when
you call them.

Clarity Aloft - They make a super-light headset that is based on
earplugs. The headsets provide excellent attenuation, and they are so
light, it feels like you don’t have anything at all on. CA's customer
service is also very excellent and personalized.

Flightline Interiors - makes full interiors, as well as nice wing root
boots. Nice, personalized service and a real person answers the phone.

U-Fly-It -
not part of the Van's RV world, but if you're interested in Light Sport/Ultralight
aircraft, Dennis Carley at U-Fly-It in Deland, FL provides top-notch flight
training, sales, and service of new and used Quad City, Quicksilver and
other ultralight and Light Sport planes.

Simple Digital
Systems - makes the SDS engine management systems for many applications,
including planes and race vehicles. Great product, great customer
service.

Aircraft
Spruce - was on my "OK" list, then "ambivalent", then "avoid" due to
multiple experiences with poor customer service. After exchanging some
emails with Jim Irwin, ACS owner, in February, 2007, I feel that ACS
management's head is in the right place, and Jim genuinely wants to see his
people provide good service. So, I've moved them back up to
"ambivalent", and hopefully they will continue to rise in my eyes, as their
customer service warrants it. Excellent catalog and easy-to-use web
site. JUNE, 2009 - Several orders with them have been smooth,
so I moved them back up to "recommended".

Infinity
Aerospace - nice guy, good product (grips with LOTS of switches),
slow responsiveness, but he does usually eventually respond.
His web site
needs to be professionally redone - it's a jumble and gets rather carried away with extreme fonts.

VENDORS THAT I HAVEN'T DEALT WITH, BUT PLAN
TO OR WOULD, AND WHO HAVE A GOOD REPUTATION ON THE INTERNET:

Fairings-Etc -
they make pre-made fairings that they say you only have to trim to fit.
I haven't dealt with them, but everyone on VAF raves about them, and says it
saves a lot of fiberglass work and they look and fit better than home-made
ones. They also make a heavy duty tipup canopy latch, s/s wheel pant
brackets, and other products.

John Stark Avionics
- I didn't actually buy from him, due to reasons unrelated to him & his
business, but I was impressed with his responsiveness, interest, and prices.
Other builders report the same very positive experiences with John.
When I was shopping for avionics, John stood out clearly above the rest, and
I highly recommend him.

IDG, Inc. - makers of
The Terminal Tool
- designed & manufactured by an RV guy. For securing large wires to
terminals. Looks like a good tool, although it would have to include an 8ga die before I'd buy it.

Vertical Power - makes, among other things, a "plug and play"
interconnection hub for all your avionics wiring. Everyone seems
to speak very highly of it. They also make a box with electronic
fuses, replacing all of an aircraft's fuses and breakers.

Andair -
very well made products, Was on my
"avoid" list, due to zero responsiveness. The last time I dealt with them,
getting the fuel valve extension for my console, their responsiveness was
very good.

Wicks Aircraft Supply
- their catalog is kind of a hodge-podge, laced with typos. They
don't carry as much stuff as Aircraft Spruce (ACS), but they do carry some
things that ACS does not. I
haven't needed their customer service, so I can't comment on that yet.
They charge a 15% restocking fee for all returns, so that is not good.

VENDORS I AM AMBIVALENT ABOUT:

Kitplanes magazine - poor customer service, has "avoid
contact with those annoying customers" attitude, decent magazine. Very cheap
- even charges subscribers to view their web pages, and has pay-per-view
system for specific features.

Morton Buildings -
smooth and efficient builders of custom hangars and other buildings.
Nearly all the local private hangars are Morton. The only negative for me
was poor responsiveness, followup, and attention to detail by the local
sales rep and very poor customer service after the sale. See my hangar page.

Avery Tools - excellent source of tools, outstanding customer
service. Cleaveland carries a couple things they don't, like 120
degree dimple dies and a better edge bender, but Avery's responsiveness is
MUCH better than Cleaveland's. 2007 update - Avery is now
carrying 120 degree dimple dies.
2009 update - Avery's customer service seems to have gone way
downhill. Over the course of about a month, I emailed them
twice and twice filled out the contact form on their web site, seeking
more detailed info for a rather expensive purchase (inspection scope). ZERO response, zero sale.
I bought one elsewhere. See also my
crimper comment about Avery.

VENDORS I RECOMMEND AVOIDING:

Most companies provide good support and
products. A few do not:

Pilot Comunications USA - makers of the BluLink
Bluetooth adapter for aviation headsets. Shockingly poor, belligerent
customer service. The BluLink product works very poorly and is very
sensitive to which headsets, which planes, and which radios it will work
with. See my detailed testing and review HERE.

Gulf Coast Avionics - Same as
above. They apparently can't be bothered with
someone contacting them repeatedly, ready to spend about $60K on a panel.
See my 2003 avionics page.
If you want avionics, go to John Stark. His
prices are among the lowest, and his customer service is vastly better than
most avionics vendors I contacted.

Avionics West of Tennessee - another
incredibly non-responsive avionics
dealer. I would NEVER buy anything from someone like this.

NSI Aero Subaru and/or Crossflow Subaru - buyer beware!
Tales abound all over the Internet of engines paid for and not delivered.
See my engine page for more details.

Cleaveland Tools - has a couple tools you can't get at
Avery, but responsiveness has repeatedly been nil.

Waytek Wire - they carry lots of good wiring products, but very poor customer service attitude.
Also, watch out for
their "backorder gotcha" - they don't tell you in advance when you order,
or give you any opportunity to specify "no backorders" when you
order, but anything not in
stock will be shipped later, even just the very next day, with additional shipping charges.

On my second order with them, it took them FOUR attempts to ship me what I
ordered and a 5th followup to get them to give me a credit they'd promised,
all over about a 6 week period. Three times, they sent me something other
than what I'd ordered (and was on the invoice). Incredibly screwed
up company.

They also have very oddball minimums - each line item has
to be at least $5. Getting male and female pins? Better plan on
different quantities of each. Want something that costs $4.75?
Better plan on ordering two of them. Also, their web site apparently
creates a new customer ID when you place a second web order, and then they
HOLD your order while waiting for you to sort out their mess. See
here for some of the details.

Online Components - electronic supplies online only.
No catalog or parts info - you have to already know mfg and p/n when you go
there. Totally unresponsive to all emails or filling out any forms on
their web site. Allied is
really a much better source, and no more expensive.

Eggenfellner Aircraft - They used to be at the top of my
"highly recommended" list. While they're now the only
Subaru FWF (as the other 2 have gone out of business after ripping off lots
of people), I can no longer recommend Eggenfellner. Eggenfellner's
attitude toward existing STi customers really fell apart beginning in
May, 2007. See
my engine page
for the long, sorry saga.

VENDORS WITH REPUTATION PROBLEMS:

It seems most of the ones in
this category are engine suppliers. I'd say be very cautious
in giving an engine builder a deposit. Perhaps put the deposit money
into an escrow account. If the builder doesn't want to do that, I'd be
very leery.

I think most of us have heard
about the problems with Subaru engine builders Crossflow and the infamous
NSI. The NSI technology is now reborn (with all new people, I
understand) as
Maxwell Propulsion Systems. I have not yet heard anything good or
bad about Maxwell. Here are reviews I have seen on the Internet lists,
but do not have personal experience with:

I own / run a small business and see a lot of
things run by my desk. I run a high-end machine shop with all
multi-axis machines making orthopedic implants, medical devices,
aircraft parts, and the like. The success of my business is largely
based on old fashioned principles: honesty, quality, and expertise.

Ron Munson / Performance
Engines has owed me and promised to pay me back my $20,000 deposit for
over two years now. I read Matt Throckmorton's account of his dealings
with Mike Moore and mine is a very similar story. Bottom line here, no
matter how you slice it Ron Munson is a liar and a cheat and should be
in jail; let alone receive any orders from any of us or anyone else. His
"salesman" Stuart Featherstone falls into the same category. I've tried
being nice talking with him, I've had an attorney send nice letters,
I've had an attorney send threatening letters, I've had a collections
agency work to get my money back. So far, no joy. Apparently Ron Munson
has moved his banking to Nevada while maintaining operations in
California; making it more difficult and expensive to go after him.

The short story goes like this: I decided to go
with Performance Engines for a “hot rod” IO-540 for my Rocket. They
asked for a $20,000 deposit and promised delivery in 90 days – all in a
written contract (by email and fax). The 90 days came and went, I
wasn’t worried; another couple of months went by, I still wasn’t too
worried. After 9 months went by and still no engine I was worried. We
had been talking during this time and there were “reasons” for the delay
(for example, they were unable to secure a Barrett cold-air-induction
sump). Then a friend of mine (based at my home airport) visited
Performance Engines looking for another engine builder for his Reno
racer; and found that while Performance advertises and talks up their
dyno data and experience; they have no dyno. Given this and the fact
that they were over 6 months late in delivering my engine I decided to
pull the plug; I cancelled my order and asked for my deposit back. Ron
agreed but asked for a little time to pull together the $20,000. Again
I wasn’t too worried and agreed to 2 months. This time came and went
with no money. Long story short, after 2 years, over 50 phone calls,
many promises, many broken promises, and the involvement of an attorney;
I had received around $8,000 of my deposit returned. During this time
my secretary kept a phone log and the number of calls and emails that
went un-returned is staggering; as well as the number of times we were
promised “$4,000 by the end of next week” only to receive $1500 2-1/2
weeks later. As a last resort I let a collections agency try; and after
they had worked their normal process, they came back and said that Ron
had shown himself to be fairly adept at circumventing debt; among the
tactics are banking in Nevada while conducting operations in California
and having his bookkeeper stonewall. These folks said the only way to
go further would be for me to pay the up-front costs of a lawsuit. I’m
taking this to mean “more good money after bad” so I’m very reticent to
make this investment (most likely not an investment at all). That’s
pretty much the story.